[Flaxman, John] 1755-1826 :Capt. Cook [1779 or 1780] (Etruria, England, Wedgwood])

Head and shoulders portrait of Captain James Cook. A unique surviving example of this Wedgwood portrait, of which seven were originally cast.

Design cast by Flaxman after portrait by Hodges (cf. engraving held at B-085/002). One of original set of seven

Inscriptions: Verso - Inscribed: Wedgwood & Bentley

Quantity: 1 curio(s).

Physical Description: Jasper ware, blue and white 240 x 180 mm

Provenance: Purchased by Alexander H. Turnbull from Frederick Rathbone, London, in 1913 for £25. It had previously been in the collection of William Erasmus Darwin. See McCormick, E. H , Alexander Turnbull (Wellington, 1974) p. 250. Inherited by Turnbull's sister Joanna, Lady Leigh-Wood and donated to her by the Library.

For more detail, see "The Wedgwood Society newsletter", no 59 [1982], pages 3-4 (in Art Ephemera 1982). A H Turnbull bought the medallion from Frederick Rathbone in 1913. Rathbone had bought it at auction in London in 1907, sold it to William Erasmus Darwin, who then sold it back to him again in 1913. W E Darwin was the oldest son of Charles Darwin, a grandson of Josiah Wedgwood.